


take me to church (only then i am human)

by hyuckpack (justcallthemmarkhyuck)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Cute, Dorks in Love, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fights, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, How Do I Tag, I'm Bad At Tagging, Kissing, M/M, fight of summer 2017 omg I didn't realize that lined up perfectly with their actual fight, gay boys being cute, lil bit of angst, slowburn kinda, there's some kissing but barely
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-12-07 16:41:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20979065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justcallthemmarkhyuck/pseuds/hyuckpack
Summary: Mark Lee meets Lee Donghyuck at bible school while on vacation in Korea and it makes his life a Lee-ttle bit better(note the pun)





	take me to church (only then i am human)

**Author's Note:**

> The last church scene was actually part of another fic that I'm writing but it didn't go with the flow there and it was too good to throw away so I used it as inspiration to write a whole other fic which is this one.  
-  
I did my best, hope you enjoy.

-

Mark is from Canada, Donghyuck lives half-way across the world, in Korea. But by some chance, they meet, when Mark is enrolled in bible studies during his three month holiday in Seoul in 2010. Mark had always been good at reciting prayers and Donghyuck had always been the church choir’s lead soloist so there had been initially, some puffed chests and eye rolling to assert dominance (as was the way of a 10 and 11 year old) before eventually, a friendship developed.

After that, they had been nearly inseparable, joint at the hip you could say.

Eventually, after the summer Mark had to head back and Donghyuck had never been so heartbroken but they promised to keep in touch on their Facebooks and Donghyuck ugly cried all the way to the airport and all the way back and Mark shadowed him from the moment he boarded the plane.

The first weeks were miserable, it wasn’t always that you found your one true best friend. Donghyuck was always loud and chattery and Mark was more quiet and self-kept which is why their friendship worked so well. Donghyuck refused to attend bible school for two whole Sundays until a church event came up and the church really needed back their soloist and he had started attending again. Mark still went to church in Canada but it was regular, no recitals, no singing, no rapping about Faith. He missed Korea. He missed Bible School. But mostly, he missed Donghyuck.

Mark and his family had flown back to Korea next summer and the next and the summer after that and Mark always told Donghyuck on his Facebook weeks before and Donghyuck had promised to wait at the airport and he did, oh he was always there alright, especially in the summer of 2013, he was holding the biggest board in the crowd _WELCOME BACK LEE MARK _with giant musical notes and hearts littering the paper and Mark could only blush, tackling his best friend to the floor. The two had a special handshake and both were pleased that neither of them had forgotten.

2014 came round and they had barely changed and they spent that summer just like the last. The leaving was relatively easier each time because more than sad, they were both already counting down days for the next summer.

And then the summer of 2015 came around as did the summer of 2016 and it went by just as quick but their friendship never hindered, they had started video calling more often and Mark’s Korean continued to improve because of Donghyuck.

Eventually they approached the summer of 2017 and Mark didn’t tell Donghyuck his arrival date, surprising him at his house instead and Donghyuck had almost whacked him with a baseball bat thinking he was an intruder but recognized the dumb puppy smile that Mark sent his way. Mark had died his hair blonde, taller than Donghyuck still but Donghyuck had sprouted too, just an inch or two lower than Mark and he had lost weight, his face stood out more and he had died his hair brown.

Mark discovered soon that Donghyuck had become quite the star in town, he had gone from leading the church choir to singing in a band- while still attending bible school though- and they called themselves _Sunrise. _Donghyuck had invited Mark to one of their _shows, _which turned out to be a busking session but Mark still cheered until his throat was sore.

They lay that night together in Donghyuck’s backyard and it was warm and there were fireflies and Mark barely spoke because his throat hurt but Donghyuck was so happy. He had bought a gaming console from the money he had saved up from all his gigs and Mark thought they should have been inside playing on it but Donghyuck, despite having waited so long to get his hands on it, suggested they talk instead, he _wanted to catch up_ he said.

They attended bible school together on Mark’s first Sunday back and while he did recognize some of the old kids, he noticed the addition of many new kids. One who went by the name Johnny who was just a few years older but was also from Canada. They got close, Mark and Johnny, and whenever they spoke, they spoke in English and though Donghyuck was always welcome, he started to feel left out. He wasn’t the worst English speaker but he wasn’t the best so he didn’t feel comfortable and though he made up for it with his humour, he got tired. Mark was _his_ best friend but as of recent it was starting to feel less and less like it. When Johnny and Mark hung out, Donghyuck was always invited but he refused too often that soon, they stopped even asking him. They still hung out, Donghyuck and Mark, way more than Mark ever spent time with Johnny, but Donghyuck thought that Mark was always too quiet (it wasn’t anything new, Mark was always the quiet one but Donghyuck only noticed it now and assumed that Mark had grown bored of him) and if he wasn’t quiet he’d be talking about something that he had been talking to Johnny about. Hyuck knew how talkative Mark got around Johnny, rambling on in English, so he was jealous. Jealous that his best friend had found another friend. And Jealous that Johnny and Mark would fly back to Canada and still be friends there and then Mark would probably forget him.

So one night, when Mark was having dinner at Donghyuck’s and Mark was trying to translate an English joke into Korean but it wasn’t working and Mark said, “Ah I don’t know how to make it funny in Korean, Johnny probably knows how to though”, Donghyuck _snapped._

“Then why don’t you go have dinner at Johnny’s house?!” He had stood up abruptly, pushing his chair back and shouted and Mark had flinched because he had never seen his best friend so angry. Yes, his _best_ friend. Contrary to Donghyuck’s beliefs, Mark _still_ thought Donghyuck to be his BFF.

“What do you mean, Hyuck??”

“You’re so fucking stupid Mark. I can’t stand being around you, all you have to say is Johnny _this_ Johnny _that, _well if Johnny is so great, go be _his _best friend because I’m pretty sure you’re not mine anymore”, he was near tears and so was Mark but Mark, Mark who was usually so good at hiding his feelings, Mark who rarely spoke or rarely ever showed weakness, broke _down_.

“I don’t understand, Donghyuck. I’ve always made time for you, you’re the reason I look forward to coming to Korea. Sure Johnny is a friend but nobody can be you Hyuck, you’ve always been my best friend and I thought you always would be but if you really hate me that much then fine, I’ll leave, I’ll leave you alone, I’m so sorry if I ever hurt you”.

And Donghyuck’s eyes were red and tears streamed down his face and he choked on his words and before he could get them out and apologize for overreacting, Mark had left through the kitchen porch and Donghyuck’s ego was still too big to follow him out the door.

Bible school had closed temporarily for three weeks because the church was under repair and Mark had had an early flight this summer, exactly in three weeks, because he had come alone, without his family. He had shown up to Donghyuck’s house the night before his flight but they weren’t home, so Mark slipped a letter into Donghyuck’s post-box and texted him _My flight is at 4 a.m., I’m leaving to the airport in a while._

When Donghyuck got home that night after dinner with his family, he was so tired that he went straight to bed, without even checking his phone.

-

Mark had landed in Canada hours later and his mom picked him up from the airport and she was using the sign that Donghyuck had made in 2013 and it made him feel terrible, this hurt way more than the first time they had parted ways after the summer of 2010. His mom sensed his odd mood and all she had to do was ask what’s wrong before it all came running out, like word vomit, out of Mark’s mouth and Mark cried all the way home and then vomited, for real, in his toilet and his mom had made him sour soup, the way he liked most and tucked him in bed with a cold cloth over his forehead.

Donghyuck was helping his father fix the arch in their front yard the next morning when his mother had called to him from the mailbox. She handed him a brown letter, addressed to him and from the scrawny letters, he recognized who it was from.

He washed up, as quick as he could, wanting to be as clean and clear minded as possible when he read it and sat at the edge of his bed, opening it hastily and unfolding the A4 paper.

_To my Hyuck,_

It started and Donghyuck shifted in his position, already feeling nervous.

_I know that this summer didn’t go as well as either of us would have liked it to. I made a new friend and it was nice to be around someone who spoke the same language that I was most fluent in. But Hyuck, that doesn’t mean I like you any less. In case you don’t remember, let me remind you of one of the first nights we spent together this year, after your busking session, we lay in your backyard and you talked and you talked and I listened and listened because that’s what I love to do. I’m so quiet when you talk because I love listening to you, you’re a born story-teller Hyuck, you’re so funny and you’re so witty and I don’t want to interrupt you because you’re best when you’re talking and your eyes sparkle from your own excitement and it’s the best thing to know that I’m the one you’re telling all this to. Thank you for trusting me with your stories Hyuckie, I’ll cherish them forever._

_When we fought and you said you couldn’t stand me, that hurt Hyuckie, you didn’t really mean that did you? But it’s okay if you did, I guess I was an asshole for not spending more time with you._

And Hyuck shook his head to prevent the tears from falling and he had whispered to himself, “It’s not your fault Mark, I was the asshole and No, I didn’t mean any of it, I should be sorry, not you”.

He tucks the letter into his back pocket and heads out, cycling, fast as his wheels can go, until he stops in front of Mark’s holiday home. And he knocks, _twice, thrice. _Nobody answers so he takes his phone to open Mark’s contact only to see he has a message from the boy himself.

_Received at 21:06, yesterday_

**_Mark-eu:_** _My flight is at 4 a.m., I’m leaving to the airport in a while._

Donghyuck is the one to cry now, he leans heavy against the closed door and sinks onto the wooden floor of the porch and he sobs, his whole body shaking. He takes out the letter and continues to read it, wiping the tears with the back of his hand. He’s sure he’s never cried this much before, maybe the first time he’d watched Mark leave, but then it had been for completely different reasons. And he was only 10 then.

_Hyuck, Donghyuck, Lee Donghyuck, you’re my bestest friend in the whole world and you have an incredible voice and we’ve grown up a lot since our first meeting and just gonna put this in here, you looked good this summer, the brown hair goes well with your skin. You know how I always say I wish I had tan skin like yours? Now I want brown hair like yours too._

_If you’re mad at me when you’re reading this, it’s okay, I can understand why, but please unblock me on Facebook so that we can talk after I leave._

_No worries though, I’ll be back next summer too, so we’ll do everything we missed this year and I’ll make it up to you and show you that we’re still best friends. We’ll go to the river like we used to when we were little and you can make me tteokbokki and I’ll bring you those chocolates that you love so much from Vancouver and the gummies that you say you can’t find in Korea. I’ll bring those and we’ll play on your console and you can talk to me and I’ll listen, _

_as always, _

_I’m always listening to you Hyuck,_

_Even if you don’t have anything to say_

_Because while a best-friend can hear all_

_A bestest-friend,_

_A soulmate, _

_can feel all, _

_Even through silence_

_And you’re my soulmate Donghyuck_

_I think you always were_

_Lee (Idiot) Mark - since 2010_

-

Donghyuck unblocks him, but he doesn’t text or message, unsure of what he should even say or where he could start. A week goes by, then another and slowly, Donghyuck loses the guts to text first, now thinking that it’s too late. The fourth week, nearly a month after, his phone starts ringing on skype and it’s Mark’s ID and he’s nervous, sweating but he answers.

Mark had indeed dyed his hair brown, like he had mentioned in his letter.

“Hey”

“You colored your hair”

They say at the same time and Donghyuck shrinks, ashamed that he hadn’t said hi first.

“Ah, yeah yeah, just last week”, Mark smiles and the screen lags and his smile freezes for a moment and Donghyuck can feel the emotions stirring in him.

_Last week. _It felt like he hadn’t seen Mark in over a year when it had really been about two months.

“So, what have you been doing”

“I read the letter”

They say at the same time, again, and it’s awkward but it’s never been awkward for them before because Donghyuck usually talks but this time, he barely knows what to say.

“Oh, and what do you think?”

Mark asks slowly and Donghyuck bites his lip.

“I’m the one who’s sorry”.

There’s a long pause and Donghyuck can’t figure out if it’s the lag of the internet or if Mark is being quiet.

“It’s okay, Hyuck, we’re past it, it was a childish argument”, Mark says, breaking the silence and Donghyuck sighs.

“I went to the candy store that sells those gummies you like and I bought like a box”, Mark says and Donghyuck looks at him through the screen.

Mark was always so nice and Donghyuck wanted to apologize, again.

“I’m _really _sorry, Mark, I mean it”, he repeats and Mark smiles.

“I know, Hyuckie, and it’s _really _okay”.

Donghyuck manages to smile this time and Mark continues, for once the talkative one between the two of them.

“I shipped them to you last night so they’ll be there is maybe two to three weeks”.

“Oh my god, Mark you didn’t have to”

“I didn’t have to, but I wanted to. I don’t have to do anything for you, but I do it cause I want to, cause you’re my best friend Hyuck”

_Soulmate_

_You’re my soulmate_

_I think you always were_

The words echo in his mind as clear as day and he’s tempted to ask but he holds his tongue.

“Tell me”, Mark says and Donghyuck raises his eyebrows in confusion because _how did he know?_

“I know you were gonna say something just now, you made that face, so tell me”.

Even through a pixelated screen, Mark Lee could read him like a book.

“I uh-, in the letter, you said I was your soulmate”

Mark hesitates before replying.

“Yeah, I think the expression is really fitting, like, I think it was made for us”

“Yeah?” Donghyuck is beaming now, he’s glad that even after he acted out, Mark was still his _bestest-friend._

“Yeah”, Mark says back and they stay quiet until one of them interrupts the silence and they fall into a normal conversation.

-

They continue to video call, months flying by and Donghyuck does an unboxing video for Mark when the candies arrive and the look on his face is the most precious thing Mark has ever seen. He eats the gummies for months, storing them in ever drawer of the house so he can eat them everywhere, even in the bathroom, in the cupboard where he keeps his toothbrush and toiletries, he leaves a jar of M&Ms.

Summer of 2018 arrives relatively slower, maybe because they’re still a little on edge, afraid of another fight and Donghyuck finds himself in a big conflict. He battles in his head if he should tell Mark or not and his mind keeps deciding both for and against it. He’s so anxious about his problem that he doesn’t even notice the days flying by, until one day his mom knocks him off the sofa and tells him to get in the car.

“What? Why?”

“What do you mean why? The Lees are landing today, well, the other Lees”

And Donghyuck springs to his feet and sits in the back seat and bounces his knee and bites his nails all the way to the airport. Mark hugs him and he doesn’t hug back but Mark is too jet-lagged to notice and he swings an arm around his shoulder and they head to Mark’s holiday home in Seoul.

-

Mark is trying to wrestle, like they usually do, but Donghyuck keeps shoving him off and he keeps blaming it on the heat.

“Hyuck you haven’t spoken much these past few days, like at all, I haven’t even heard you sing, are you okay?”

Mark had died his hair black again but it looked great, he _always _looked great.

“I’m fine, Mark, really”.

To be fair, the summer this year _was_ incredibly scorching, but they were in the comfort of Mark’s air-conditioned room so that wasn’t a valid excuse.

“If I told you a secret-“, Hyuck starts and then stops again.

“Oh come on, don’t do that, you know I hate it when you stop halfway”, Mark whines, leaning heavily on Donghyuck’s shoulder only to be pushed again.

“Okay, but, you can’t tell anybody, especially not our parents”.

“Oh my god, Hyuck did you kill somebody?”

“NO what the heck? Where did you even-“

“Oh thank god”, Mark heaves, holding his chest in relief.

“Mark”, Donghyuck nudges his best friend and Mark looks up, nodding for Donghyuck to continue, “I’m gay”.

The world, Donghyuck’s world, stops turning and he regrets it, saying it because he doesn’t want to lose Mark. Everybody says _if they’re really your friend, they’ll stay _but actually being in the situation is so much harder than saying it because Donghyuck doesn’t want to see if he leaves or not, he only wants him to stay.

Then before he even knows Mark’s reply he’s in tears, standing up to leave when Mark pulls him back down.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, you’re okay, Donghyuck I really don’t mind”, Mark’s voice is gentle, honest and clear and Donghyuck looks him in the eye.

“Really?” He asks, still nervous.

“Yes, really, there’s nothing to be afraid of, Hyuck, it won’t affect our friendship, I promise”, he holds the younger’s hand as a silent way of saying _see, we’re still close and we’re still us._

“And since we’re all being honest, I should probably tell you”

“Tell me what?” Donghyuck turns to him while grabbing a tissue from his desk.

“I’m Bi”.

-

“I can’t believe you never told me”, Donghyuck scoffs and Mark scoffs back.

“You didn’t tell me either”.

“Well, I didn’t know it myself”.

“I didn’t either”.

They bicker back and forth, playful and light until the topic changes all on it’s own to something else. They do everything Mark mentioned in the letter. The go swimming in the river and they play games for hours and watch as many horror movie as they can in one night, making it a challenge almost to finish all the Netflix horrors.

They don’t spend a waking moment away from each other and while it surely makes up for last year, it stirs something in the both of them, particularly, the day Donghyuck’s final results come out. In early August. He’s passed his English exam and his units so well and Mark couldn’t be prouder.

“Have you thought about where you’re going to apply?”

Donghyuck just smiles, nodding.

“Wait, wait don’t tell me-“

“CANADA!!”

Donghyuck yells at the top of his lungs and Mark throws himself at his best friend in a hug that hurts because they collided too hard and their ribs are pressed to tightly but it’s okay, even if it’s hard to breathe, it’s okay.

-

Donghyuck obviously got in, and frankly, Mark is the more excited one. He’s already written a bucket-list and names it _Things to do before Hyuck’s semester starts._

This year, when they head back, Mark says, “see you real soon”, because Hyuck’s flight is only a few weeks away.

Donghyuck loved Canada, he loves the snow and he loves being with Mark and he loves the food and the gummies and the coffee and he stays at Mark’s, obviously. Mark drags him all over the country but Donghyuck can’t even have the heart to mind it because he loves it here, because here, is Mark.

And he loves Mark.

He really does.

Hyuck is not the party type, he realizes, he loves staying at home and he knows it’s mostly because of Mark. Mark is already in his second year so they’re both busy and they’re both in his room and it smells like coffee because Donghyuck had just made a whole pot of it for the two of them and it’s cold outside but it’s warm inside cause the heaters are on and Donghyuck, even if he’s drowning in assessments, Donghyuck is happy.

He’s happy when his first semester is over that he’s maintained his GPA and that spring is here. He’s happy when Mark takes him on a cycling date. And he’s happy when they lay under the shade of a tree, their bicycles leaned against it and Mark turns to hug him but Donghyuck is already turned so their noses brush against each other. He’s happy when they both gasp and Mark almost says _sorry _but instead he just stares at Donghyuck through his lashes. He’s happy when Mark leans forward and does it again, rubbing their noses together and he leans forward too and their lips brush and he feels the tingling where they made contact and suddenly he feel the heat of Mark’s hand on his waist. It was always there but he’s just now started to feel it and he knows. He’s happy because he knows, without having to say a word, that Mark loves him too, the same way he loves Mark. He’s happy because the silences doesn’t make it hard for them, when they kiss again, because he can hear Mark and Mark can hear him, even through the silence, because they’re soulmates, and they’ve always been.

-

They steal glances at each other during the sermon and chuckle softly, hands brushing, like a couple of teenagers, smiling and playing around, careful not to disturb the service though. Mark is briefly reminded of the first time he and Donghyuck had gone to church together in Canada with Mark’s family, for Easter, when Donghyuck had come to Canada for the first time.

They head for the car, Mark is holding Donghyuck’s hand and he brings it up to his lips, casually.

“You’re so cute, _husband”, _Mark whispers onto the back of Donghyuck’s hand and the younger blushes, his wedding ring glinting against Mark’s own.

“What a bunch of fags”, someone mumbles,

And Donghyuck stills, his hand- the one that Mark is holding- clenching into a fist. 

“Excuse me?”

His entire body twists around to meet the source of the voice, the face is unidentifiable, a complete stranger.

“You’re a _gay_ aren’t you?”, he says the word like it’s a disease, spiteful.

If it weren’t for the fact that they were in church premises, Mark would have let Donghyuck lash out and kill the boy but since they _are _in a church, he wraps his arm delicately around Donghyuck’s waist and pulls him back, being the rational one for the most part.

“Ignore him Hyuckie, he’s not worth our time”.

Donghyuck’s body relaxes at Mark’s touch and he breaks his stance.

“Did he shove his cock so far down your throat that you can’t even speak for yourself?”

Donghyuck’s anger boils within him, but Mark is gripping onto Hyuck tightly, whispering comforting words into his ear.

“My mom says that with people like you around, it’s proof that even God makes mistakes”.

Mark can’t stop Donghyuck this time, he’s too quick, too abrupt when he turns back around and heads full speed towards the other boy and shoves him, not too harshly but with enough force to send the asshole stumbling back, legs colliding with the bench behind him.

“Why don’t you tell your mom, to go fuck herself”.

Donghyuck returns calmly to Mark, allowing the older to drape an arm over his shoulders as they head to the parking lot, the stranger shouting profanities behind them until an elderly man hears and tells him off for using that kind of language at a place of worship.

“I’ve just about had it with people like that, how could someone be so insensitive?”

Donghyuck begins as they cram into the vehicle and the rest of the way home, Mark lets his thumb caress the back of his husband’s hand, listening to his endless rant.

He’ll gladly listen to anything Donghyuck had to say, as he always had, as he always will, like when they’re back up in their room, and they’re getting changed and he’s still listening to the younger’s voice, ringing in his ears like the way it had when Donghyuck’s voice, as sweet as chimes, had declared “I do”.

**Author's Note:**

> Leave Kudos if you enjoyed it because I'd appreciate the heck out of you for it and leave a comment, even if it's criticism, you learn and you grow right?


End file.
